-DAvo

just a bit of a revival here,

has anyone with the ducktail here noticed that the double sided tape dettaches itself after a while exposed to rain? mine has, even thou i have a big bead of sikaflex underneath running along the centre of the spoiler... is this a cuase for concern? im thinking of sealing up the edges with clear silicone sealant...

I heard that window cleaners like "windex" and such, also work? is this true?

probably, so long as tyou dont use it inside... the ammonia attacks your window tint...

if you really wnt the best sort of "rain resistance" i would strongly recommend you to:

1. clay window/wipers.

2. apply auto glym glass polish

3. apply rainX

4. make sure you buff all the rainX off, or it will leave ugly streaks

5. top up your washer fluid with rainX washer additive.

6. sit back and laugh whilst you drive along the fwy in a rain shower, and realise your NOT using your wipers! :)

im currently in the process of doing this mod to mine (we're waiting on the particular style of LED to arrive from china), and im in perth too... will keep you in the loop as to how it goes ;)

Hey Davo!

Did you managed to do it?

not yet, still waiting... :(

should hopefully have something to show for it by next friday (fingers crossed)

I clayed my windows once and when the sun hit, it made all my windows look dirty from the inside because it looked like a cloudy haze over all my windows. That really annoyed the crap outa me. It finally got better after a couple of car washes later when it all washed off.

did you clean your windows after claying?? wouldnt be suprised if you got the streaks after claying if you didnt follow up with some sort of glass cleaner...

generally after i clay my car i give it a quick wash before i start the buffing...

maybe not so much as a spare part issue but just on the general assembly... the fuel flap on my car has never sat flush with the body, have tried bending it back and the panel shop i go to has attempted it too... they said most cars have bolts that you can undo/adjustbut toyota have opted for rivits! (????) so looks like i will need a fuel flap sometime... im afraid to even ask for warrenty, as i tried a while ago with the issue of my steel wheels causing the carf to bounce A LOT. took toyota 3 attempts at me driving the service manager ands then the SALES manager in the car until they admitted that the steelies were buckled... another 6 weeks for them to order in new steelies as well...

generally they spare parts at a different toyota dealer here in perth are really good. so i will stick with them. they do however have problems findind the part numbers for the sportivo pedal/foot rest... as i want to get some in mine.... anyone have an idea? sorry to go offtopic :P

Given the woeful new search function and to save starting a new thread, I'm gonna hijack this one further.

I'm ordering my HIDs today. I have been thinking 6000k, but now I'm not so sure. After comparing photos of 5000k and 6000k, I notice that 5000k is very pure white, but 6000k has a slight tinge of blue. Is this accurate in real life? How much blue do 6000k really have, or moreso, is it noticably blue when driving towards you?

ive got 6000k in mine, i find that its only "blueish" during the intital fire up, (mine goes from a tinge of green to blue then to white)

once it fired up its pretty much a white light, with a very slight blue tinge which i can sometimes see on the top of my cut off.

Just on this topic, in your particular situation - IF you are only planning on waxing your car every few months, then i would suggest you use a SYNTHETIC based car wax. Those who have read my previous posts know i will recommend meguiars, in particular NXT tech wax 2.0

reason for recommending this product:

1. Synthetics WILL protect your car surface longer than a carnuba based wax

2. NXT 2.0 will do wonders on a white car! NXT is my primary winter wax and my base layer of wax during summer. on lighter coloured cars it really brings out the gloss and reflection...

as mentioned before by DJKOR, a good wash, clay, and wax is the bare minimum needed to get your car slicked up :)

the swirl removing and polishing steps should be used if needed. normally with the quality of waxs nowadays the polishing step is very much a optional step. you will find that a lot of consumer branded waxes will also have some very minor "filling" ability to "hide" the light swirls in your paint

good luck :)

probably, try looking online at places like autogeek.com or something similar. i know you can buy them seperately overseas... in singapore the meguiars clay kit included a hardcase to carry the claybar in, lubricant, AND a meguiars microfibre cloth!! THAT was a bargain. at 34SGD

are you breaking the claybar down into smaller parts? i can get a good 6 months out of 1 clay bar... i cut it into 3's... and resuse as well if the car isnt too bad...

important thing is to seal it back up (i use gladwrap reseaable bags) after use, and give it a spray of detailer before storing...

IMO paying for a new claybar kit every 6 months is acceptable... or if you mean the lubricant, you can buy it seperately for like 15 bucks..

I own my own Eagle Boys Store... and il be happy to offer anyone inm the Toyota Owners Club ... Classic Pizzas from $6.95 anytime... !!!

Just mention the club!!.

Its the Malaga store in Perth WA!

is that the one on alexander drive?? if so im always around there! the missus lives in ballajura :P might have to come by sometime for pizza! yeeoow!

Does anyone here wax their windows and windscreens?

I'm thinking that by waxing the windows it would be easier to see while driving because of the beading but i do not know the disadvantages of waxing glass? I'm focusing in particular the back windscreen.

i wouldnt wax your windows, if youre after water beading off your windows, try using rainx... even claying the windows increases the water beading ability of the windows...

the most i have used was meguiars ultimate quik detailer on the windows but found that it didnt last very long on the glass...

thanks for the heads up B)

im currently in the process of doing this mod to mine (we're waiting on the particular style of LED to arrive from china), and im in perth too... will keep you in the loop as to how it goes ;)

OK so i have installed the UR front strut tower bar, will report back on the effect (if any) the front bar has. Have the RSB sitting here waiting to be installed, will attempt to get it done on the weekend.

Are all those enhancements to be used when the car is off? Or only when running?

If the latter is the case, then you don't need to upgrade the battery, as the alternator takes care of all your electrical needs when the engine is running (whether or not the alternator is up to the task is a different matter)

the only thing that will regularly be run when the car is not running is the headunit, as i watch movies while waiting to pick the missus up from work (approx 20-30mins max)

thanks for your input Hiro :)

i run a pioneer headunit in my aurion and i ran a pioneer unit in my corolla previously. however If i was goin a single din then i would choose the alpine... as mentioned in the thread, your setup also has a big part to play, such a wiring, amps, speakers etc etc

i like the alpine for the fact that you can use their "IMPRINT" technology to tune the sound. Might be all ****, but having sat in a few cars with alpine set ups, i was blown away.

have you considered saving a bit more and looking at the 9887 or the pioneer PRS headunit series?

Hey everyone,

Not sure if I should be posting this in the "workshop submission" section, as due to my noobness electrical knowledge I am not sure if the batteries will be different between car models.

Basically my situation is - I am wanting to replace my battery for a higher performance battery, as I find myself powering a number of electrical items in the car that were not intended from the factory. (such as a upgraded sound system, HID lights, LED bumper brake lights, interior foot well LED lighting)

now i do have plans on adding more power to my sound system with the swapping of my alpine MRP amps to some more powerful PDX amps, and i dont want to be straining my existing stock battery. am currently set up with Alpine MRP M500 mono block, alpine MRP 4 channel amp, Rockford 140Amp Circuit Breaker, Rockford Distribution Block, Rockford RCA Leads, 4 & 8 Gauge Power Cable

can anyone recommend a good quality battery which will serve my needs? and am i even headed down the right track in upgrading the battery?

Thanks in advance

Ok, so just a quick update, it has been a few days since i last washed my car with meguiars ultimate wash and wax, and today being the day that i apply my wax layers for the week.

I have had the opportunity to test the product through some pretty average weather (perth has been cold and rainy the last few days, with the roads slick with dried up oil from the dry break, BUT also with some sunny periods that are just ripe for instilling the ever popular water marks onto your cars surface!) so would just like to post some of my thoughts to help those who are still "umming" and "ahhing" about the product.

few observations:

1. The car does retain some "beading" properties, however i found that the product causes water to "sheet" off the car surface instead. That is, after parking the car outside for a good few horus while at dinner, with rain periods on and off, AND parked under a tree (yes i deliberately tired abuse my surface as much as i myself could withstand :P) i found the car to have the water beaded up in small clumps which ranged from 50c coin size beads to small ball bearing size beads. as soon as the car started moving, the water seemed to "clump" together and sheet off the surface. leaving the front, roof, and front fender of the car virtually "water free"

2. in dealing with sun induced water marks. I did park my car at work during the day, in which there was period of dark cloudy showers and also intermitent sunny periods... result - watermarks! yay! now the car surface still maintained a "smooth to the touch" feel of a properly waxed car. windows were definately another issue and need to be hit with some autoglym glass polish to remove the water marks. No major water marks visible on the car body (at all angles of view) arrievd at my car at the end of the day to find the paint work still reflective and deep looking, but poor windows.

conclusions:

still IMO a superior product to other brands i have used in my time. (not only meguiars but also brands from kitten, mothers, armor all, eagle one) overall i am satisfied with the product, as long as you dont expect it to be a substitue for a good layer of quality wax, you should also be happy with it.. i WOULD like to see a product i the future that will somehow combine more of the hydrophobic properties of NXT 2.0 with the depth and shine from the meguiars wash and wax, as you do sacrifice a SMALL amount of that "water just doesnt want to come anywhere near my car" property that NXT 2.0 instills. but that will be for the future..

Nice photos of your Aurion Dave. However, I would love to see some more photos of the city. I really want to travel to Perth (which I unfortunately missed out with due to changes in work), and the city in the background looks quite nice there.

thanks for the input daryl, i will definately attempt to fill in the background better on my next photoshoot.. i am pretty happy with the location i have there so will work around it.

yeah you should definately travel over to perth sometime mate, i wouldnt say the city is HUGE and busy, but taking a nice spirited drive into the ssouth west is certainly good fun wth great scenery ;)

thanks again and keep the comments coming, would love to know how i can improve on them!

waxing your headlights is absolutely fine. i routinely wax over my headlights everytime i wax my car.

you are correct in that a synthetic sealent type of wax will be the best. not sure of what other brands may have in the synthetic waxes but i have alwasy used meguiars nxt 2.0 on my headlights. apply it liberally over the headlight, let it set for 10-15mins, and then buff off. ;)

Huge thumbs up to you mate. Thanks for the review! I love how your such a fanatic with cleanliness of your car. You never disappoint with the shine.

Edit: I can't help but notice that there is a tree right next to your car! I never ever park my car near a tree. The crap that comes off them contaminates the paint like glue!

yeah i only park there temporarily while i wash the car, most of the other times its parked inside my garage ;)

so went out tonight and took a few snaps.... :)

great pics dave!

no corollas this time.

i know! :P whats goin on!?!?!

whats happening with your ride bro? when we gonna see you up and about again!?

Ok, so having tested out the new meguiars wash and wax product, ive come to a few conclusions of my own... before you continue reading please note that these are my own personal opinions, the beauty of car detailing is that what one product produces may be appealing to one user and at the same time not appealing to another. its all in the eye of the beholder.

So to start off with, my car surface currently has 2 coats of Nxt 2.0, has not been buffed for a good while now as it is getting into winter and ive been away overseas for a while. it was buffed and majority of swirls and marks were removed prior to leaving overseas about a month ago.

previously i have used meguiars softbuff wash, meguiars nxt gen wash, mothers california gold wash, and meguiars gold class wash. to date i still use gold class shampoo as my main car wash product.

(the product was applied via a meguiars lambswool wash mit, using the two bucket method.)

first thing i noticed about the Meguiars wash and wax is the aroma.. while the gold class/nxt/soft buff all have a more "perfume" type of smell.. the was and wax has a very sweet almost candy like smell to it..

Suds - this product foams up like a mofo! awsome suds, i would say better than gold class. still had plenty of suds left after i had washed the entire car and wheels.

very very good lubrication, running the wash mit over the car surface was very reassuring that no swirls or scratches would be introduced via the wash mit.

Results - astounding. breath taking. wow. The back of the label states that it has "carnuba and polymer" protectants... i have not used a carwash that has left my car surface feeling this slick ever. gold class comes close, but after a wash with meguiars wash and wax, it feels exactly how the car felt prior to the wash with 2 layers of nxt 2.0... (if not a bit slicker due to the daily contaminents being removed)

gloss is (to my eyes)deeper and very reflective (see attached photos)

water sheeting ability was excellent. removing the spray nozel from the hose and rising from top down with a steady stream of water ment that most of the water was sheeted off the car, with me being able to dry the car to an acceptable level (in my terms) with a single meguiars chamois.

points to note:

i found that best results were acheived if you let the product "dwell" on the car surface for about 4-5mins. that is once you soap the car up, step away for about 5 mins... go wash your wash mit, clean your buckets, and THEN rise the soap off... in my experience it seemed to let the "protecting" agents of the wash do their job..

recommendation:

would highly recommend this to anyone looking to maintain their waxed car surface inbetween waxing sessions. it certainly is NOT a replacement for a good quality wax layer, and i would only recommend this as a "inbetween waxing session" wash. I wouldnt use this wash if i was about to buff the car, as i feel it would be a waste of product.. thats what my gold class wash will now be used for.

cons of the product

- price. at $24.00 for a largish bottle of this stuff it certainly places it in the more expensive washing products.

- availability. being new to the market (in WA at least) it can only be found at certain locations, i suspect this will improve in time

Thanks for reading and hope you found this helpful, please post any comments. :)

Dave

photos: